Google Workspace Updates: 2021

Quick access to restore recently deleted users from Admin console homepage

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Quick summaryFor customers with less than 100 active users, you’ll now be able to see when you have recently deleted users in your organization on the “Users” card in the Admin console. If you click on the number shown, you can view a list of the recently deleted users and how many days are left until their data is permanently deleted. Previously, Admins would have to filter for recently deleted users on the User List page to review any users available for being restored — this update makes this important information more readily available for customers that primarily use the Admin console for user management.

Additionally, for all customers, admins can now select “Recently deleted users” from the “More” menu on the User List page to quickly check whether there are any recently deleted users.

We hope these updates make it easier for Admins to stay informed about their recently deleted users and take action if needed such as restoring users to retain their accounts or transfer data to another account.

Getting started

Admins: This feature will be available by default. Visit the Help Center to learn more about deleting or removing a user from your organization or restoring a recently deleted user.
End users: There is no end user impact.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: This feature is available now for all users.

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources

Set custom rules for incoming Google Voice calls

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Quick Summary Within the Google Voice settings, you can easily create rules for how incoming calls should be handled. These options allow you to route incoming calls in ways that are most efficient to your workflows and productivity, including granular settings for specific contacts.

Specifically, you can now:

Forward calls from specific contacts to your linked phone numbers or directly to voicemail,
Opt to screen calls from specific contacts,
Set custom voicemail greetings for specific contacts,
Apply rules for all your contacts or specific groups within your contacts

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
End users: These settings will be OFF by default and can be configured at voice.google.com/settings. Visit the Help Center to learn more about setting up your phone to make and receive Google Voice calls, using custom call forwarding, and screening your Google Voice calls.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: This feature is available now for all users.

Availability

Available to all Google Voice users.

Resources

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - December 17, 2021

Friday, December 17, 2021

New updatesUnless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers.
The filmstrip in Google Slides is now collapsableIn Google Slides, editors can now collapse or expand the filmstrip as needed. Collapsing the filmstrip expands the current slide view for more focused editing. You can expand the filmstrip when you need to view, navigate to, and edit the other slides in your presentation.

Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.

Prevent unwanted invitations from being added to your calendar

We've improved the "Automatically add invitations" setting to help prevent unwanted invitations from being added to your calendar. You can choose to either: always have invitations automatically added or only have them automatically added if you have RSVP’d in the email event invitation. | Learn more here.

Easily see which account you’re currently using in Google Calendar on mobile

We’ve added account profile pictures in the top corner of Google Calendar on mobile so you can confidently tell which account you’re currently using and easily toggle between accounts. | Learn more.

Automatically move breakout room participants back to the original meeting

Google Meet costs and co-hosts can now automatically move break out room participants back to the main meeting room. Additionally, we’ve added better visual indicators for breakout room participants to indicate this movement. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Nonprofits and Education Plus as well as G Suite Business customers. | Learn more.

Use your Google Meet hardware-connected displays as digital signage

Admins have several new options to control how screen savers are displayed on their Google Meet hardware devices. | Learn more.

Expanded occupancy detection capabilities for Google Meet hardware devices
We’ve significantly expanded our occupancy detection capabilities on Google Meet hardware devices beyond Series One devices. Additionally, we have made improvements to the Room insights dashboard in the Admin console. | Learn more.

Configure member restrictions for groups, now generally available

In October 2021, we announced an open beta for group level controls that allow admins and end users who are group owners to restrict group memberships based on internal or external members and member type. This feature is now generally available. | Learn more.

Making dynamic groups more powerful with custom user attributes and OrgUnit queries

We’re further expanding the functionality of dynamic groups: dynamic groups can now be defined by querying custom user attributes and can also be defined based on users’ membership in Organizational Units (OUs). | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, and Education Plus customers. | Learn more.

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

Making dynamic groups more powerful with custom user attributes and OrgUnit queries

Thursday, December 16, 2021

What’s changing Google Groups are a convenient way for Workspaces users to collaborate and a powerful tool for admins to apply consistent security and access policies to sets of users or devices. Dynamic groups further enhance this functionality by allowing group membership to be automatically updated based on parameters such as location, department, or job title.
Today we are further extending the functionality of dynamic groups in two important ways:

First, dynamic groups can now be defined by querying custom user attributes. This functionality is available as an open beta (no sign up required).
Second, dynamic groups can also be defined based on users’ membership in Organizational Units (OUs). This feature is now generally available.

Who’s impacted Admins only

Why you’d use it Dynamic groups can be used for email distribution lists, access control, group based policy, and more. Compared to regular Google Groups they have the added benefit that memberships are automatically kept up-to-date. Automating membership management increases security, reduces errors, and alleviates user frustration while minimizing the burden on admins.
These new features expand the utility of dynamic groups for organizations that take advantage of custom user attributes and organizational units. They can further tailor dynamic groups to meet the specific needs of their organization. For example these organizations could now:

Create a dynamic group for all users of a subsidiary (an organizational unit) based in a particular city or state.
Create a dynamic group with all users with a custom attribute of a “job_skill” or “speciality”.

Getting started

Admins: To take advantage of this new dynamic group functionality, you will need to have already defined custom user fields or organizational units.

Once this is in place you can test membership queries and then create / update dynamic groups to take advantage of them.

To query a customer attribute “EmployeeNumber” (based on this sample schema): user.custom_schemas.employmentData.EmployeeNumber == '123456789'
To query all direct members of an organizational unit: user.org_unit_id==orgUnitId('03ph8a2z1enx4lx')
To query all direct and indirect members of an organizational unit: user.org_units.exists(org_unit, org_unit.org_unit_id==orgUnitId('03ph8a2z1khexns'))

End users: Not available to end users.

Rollout pace

Custom user attribute queries are available now for all users in open beta (no sign up required)
Organizational unit based dynamic group queries are now generally available for all users.

Availability

Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, and Education Plus customers
Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources

Documentation: Custom user attributes dynamic group queries
Documentation: Dynamic groups organizational unit queries
Documentation: Dynamic groups overview
Documentation: Cloud Identity Groups API
Google Workspace Admin help: Manage membership automatically with dynamic groups

Configure member restrictions for groups, now generally available

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Quick launch summaryIn October 2021, we announced an open beta for group level controls that allow admins and end users who are group owners to restrict group memberships based on internal or external members and member type (service account, user, group). This feature is now generally available.Member restrictions allow admins and end users who are group owners to limit group inclusion in several important ways:

Restrict group membership to only Internal or external members of an organization

Restrict by Member type - e.g. service accounts, users, and other groups.

The Cloud Identity Groups Memberships API can be used to check the state of memberships, which makes finding violating memberships easierSee the original announcement for more information.
Getting started

Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about applying member restrictions on groups and use our API documentation to learn more about managing group restrictions with the Cloud Identity API.

End users who are group owners and managers: Use this guide to learn more about setting and viewing Group restrictions using the Cloud Identity API.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now to all users.

Availability

Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Cloud Identity Premium customers

Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help: Restrict group membership

Cloud Identity API Documentation: Groups — Update Security Settings

Cloud Identity API Documentation: Groups Memberships

Expanded occupancy detection capabilities for Google Meet hardware devices

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

What’s changing We’re significantly expanding our occupancy detection capabilities on Google Meet hardware devices beyond Series One devices. When enabled:

Occupancy counting will now be supported on all qualified cameras.

Note: We’re aware of an ongoing, unrelated issue with the Logitech PTZ Pro 2 camera. Admins may want to avoid enabling occupancy detection on devices with these cameras until this is resolved.

Occupancy counting will now also be available on unsupported cameras (though this is not officially supported).

Additionally, we have streamlined the Room insights dashboard in the Admin console. Admins can now access new data visualizations about:

Room usage, based on actual occupancy data and room capacity

Device usage, based on whether the Google Meet hardware in the room was in a call

See below for more information.
Who’s impactedAdmins
Why it’s importantPreviously, occupancy counting support was only available on the Series One Smart Camera and the Series One Smart Camera XL. This update expands this capability to a greater number of cameras in your fleet, giving you a more complete look at room usage when enabled.
The updated Room insights dashboard makes it easier for admins to access the data and insights needed for space-planning, especially to support social-distancing protocols, and device purchasing decisions. We’ve added separate graphs for booked and unbooked periods of time. These graphs can help admins gauge room and device usage during times when rooms are scheduled for use versus times when they haven’t actually been booked (i.e., impromptu meetings).
These insights can help admins answer questions about how users in their organization are using rooms and devices in their fleet, such as:

What percentage of the rooms in my office are consistently over capacity?
Which room and buildings are being booked and occupied most often?
Are users being detected in rooms when they’re not booked?
Do I need to break up some of my underutilized high-capacity rooms into smaller rooms?
What percentage of meetings make use of the Google Meet hardware device?
Are rooms with Google Meet hardware devices booked / occupied more often than rooms without?
Do I need more Google Meet hardware devices?

Visit the Help Center article to learn more about the updated Room insights dashboard experience.

Additional details

When enabling occupancy counting on unsupported cameras, we encourage admins to consult the manufacturer’s documentation about the performance characteristics of the camera. In general, we recommend that admins test this feature on unsupported cameras before enabling it widely across their fleet.

Note that occupancy detection still requires cameras to be connected to a supported device. Devices that have reached end-of-life will not support occupancy detection.

Getting started

Admins:

Occupancy detection is an opt-in feature at the individual device level. To turn on occupancy detection, you can do so individually from the Device Detail page, or from the Device List page for up to 50 devices at a time by selecting them and using the bulk action. Visit the Help Center to learn more about enabling occupancy detection.
Room insights privileges are required to access the Room insights dashboard in the Admin console at Buildings and resources > Room insights dashboard. Visit the Help Center to learn more about assigning Room insights privileges and tracking room and device usage with Meet hardware.

End Users: There is no end user impact.

Rollout pace

Expanded occupancy detection support:

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) beginning December 15, 2021

Updated Room insights dashboard

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) beginning January 24, 2021

Availability

Occupancy detection

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Room insights dashboard

Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers
Not available to Google Workspace Essentials customers

Resources

Google Admin Help: Turn on occupancy detection
Google Admin Help: Track room and device usage with Meet hardware
Google Admin Help: Track room & resource use in Google Calendar
Google Admin Help: Administrator privilege definitions
Google Meet Hardware Help: Known Issues

Use your Google Meet hardware-connected displays as digital signage

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

What’s changing We’re giving admins more control over how screen savers are displayed on their Google Meet hardware devices, allowing them to use their displays as digital signage. Specifically, admins can now set:

Any publicly accessible URL to display when devices are not in use,

Number of minutes of inactivity before screen saver shows,

How soon prior to the next meeting screen saver is dismissed.

Who’s impactedAdmins
Why it’s importantThis update allows you to customize the content your Google Meet hardware devices display while not in use. For instance, you can use this feature to display corporate signage or publish slides to the web and make them publicly accessible to share customized content across your hardware fleet. Please note that screen savers are not interactive—tapping your touch controller or using the remote will cause the screen saver to be dismissed, and the device will return to displaying the agenda on the homepage.
Additional detailsIn some cases, this feature can conflict with the power-saving feature on your Meet hardware devices. To ensure that your custom screen saver is visible, be sure to set displays as active during working hours in the organizational unit you’re targeting. Visit the Help Center article to learn more about displaying custom screen saver images.
Getting started

Admins:

End users: There is no action required.

Rollout pace

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) beginning December 15, 2021.

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers with Google Meet hardware devices

Resources

Automatically move breakout room participants back to the original meeting

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

What’s changingWe’re introducing several improvements for breakout rooms in Google Meet. These improvements include:

The ability for meeting hosts and co-hosts to automatically move participants back to the main meeting room once breakout rooms end.

Better visual indicators for breakout room participants to indicate this movement.

See below for more information.

Who’s impacted

End users

Why it’s important

In 2020, we introduced breakout rooms for Google Meet, which allows meeting hosts and co-hosts to split larger meetings into smaller groups for discussion or group work. We’ve heard from our customers that they need more controls to easily and effectively manage breakout rooms.

Breakout room participants will see a banner with a countdown indicating when they’ll be moved back to the main meeting room.

We’ve added better indicators confirming participants have been moved back to the main meeting room. Additionally, cameras and microphones will be turned off when participants are automatically moved back into the main meeting — participants can re-enable them once they’re ready.

Getting started

Rollout pace

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 14, 2021

Availability

Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Nonprofits and Education Plus as well as G Suite Business customers
Not available to Google Workspace Business Starter and Education Fundamentals, as well as G Suite Basic customers

Note: We expect this feature to be available for the Teaching and Learning upgrade in April 2022. We will provide an update on the Workspace Updates Blog.

Resources

Google Help: Use breakout rooms in Google Meet
Google Help: Add co-hosts in Google Meet

Easily see which account you’re currently using in Google Calendar on mobile

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Quick launch summaryWe’ve added account profile pictures in the top corner of Google Calendar on mobile so you can confidently tell which account you’re currently using and easily toggle between accounts.

See your account profile picture in the top right corner

This visual cue will also make it easier to tell what account you’re creating an event under in Calendar on your Android and iOS device.
Clicking the profile picture will allow you to switch between enabled accounts, just as you do in other Google apps.

Toggle between accounts by clicking on the profile picture

Note that you will still be able to see events for all accounts you’re logged into, or any other calendar account you added.
The account you’re active in will always be listed at the top of the accounts in the overflow menu.

See all accounts in the overflow menu

Getting started

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 14, 2021

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers. Also available to users with personal Google Accounts.

Resources

Google Help: Switch between Google Accounts in the Google Calendar app

New notifications when Drive content violates abuse program policies

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Quick launch summary When a Google Drive file is identified as violating Google's Terms of Service or program policies, it may be restricted. When it’s restricted, you may see a flag next to the filename, you won’t be able to share it, and your file will no longer be publicly accessible, even to people who have the link.

Now, the owner of the item in Google Drive will receive an email notifying them of the action taken, and alerting them of how to request a review of the restriction if they think it is a mistake. For items in shared drives, the shared drive manager will receive the notification

This will help ensure owners of Google Drive items are fully informed about the status of their content, while also helping to ensure that users are protected from abusive content.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
End users: If a user has a file that violates Drive policies, they will receive an email with details and potential actions they can take to request a review.

An example email that would be sent when content is in violation of Drive policies

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 14, 2021.

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources

Prevent unwanted invitations from being added to your calendar

Monday, December 13, 2021

What’s changing We've improved the "Automatically add invitations" setting to help prevent unwanted invitations from being added to your calendar. You can now choose to either:

Always have invitations automatically added

Only have them automatically added if you have RSVP’d in the email event invitation.

These settings allow you to prevent invitations from automatically being added to your calendar or to be visible for others who you've shared your calendar with
Who’s impacted End users and developers Why it matters These additional controls can help you manage your calendar with less manual work by ensuring unwanted events don't appear, and you see only the events that are important to you. Additional details

If you choose to only have events added if you RSVP, you’ll see an additional option to allow those who have permission to view or edit your events to see all invitations.

When you change the setting, it only determines whether future events are added to your calendar. Any events that are already on the calendar will remain visible unless you delete them.

If you choose to only add events when you RSVP, you’ll receive an email invitation to all events, even if the organizer chooses not to send one. This will help prevent you from missing events. Note that this doesn’t apply to updates, only to invitations.

We've moved the notification option ("Yes, but only notify me if I've responded Yes or Maybe") into the notifications section to help you better manage when you get notifications.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.

End users: This feature will be OFF by default and can be turned on by the user by going to Open Google Calendar > Go to settings > Scroll to event settings > "Add invitations to my calendar". Visit the Help Center to learn more about Responding to event invitations .

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 13, 2021

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Available to users with personal Google Accounts

Resources

Google Calendar Help: Respond to event invitations

Quicker access to more Workspace integrations in Google Chat

Friday, December 10, 2021

Quick launch summary While you’re having a conversation in Google Chat, you can now more easily take actions in other Google Workspace products. Simply hover over the + icon to the start of the text box to quickly see and access the menu of options. These options vary by context, and can include Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Photos, and Calendar. This will make it easier to take action across Google Workspace and enable a faster and more seamless workflow. This feature will be initially available on the Web and Android, with iOS available in early 2022. We’ll announce on the Workspace Updates Blog when the feature becomes available to iOS users. Using compose on web

Using compose on web
Using compose on Android

Using compose on Android

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.

End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about how to use Google Chat.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility)] starting on December 9, 2021

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help:Uploading and Sharing files in Google Chat

Google Help: Get started with Google Chat

Manage Gmail IMAP controls by group in the Admin console

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Quick launch summaryYou can now configure Gmail IMAP settings at the group level in the Admin console, giving you more granular levels of control to define trusted mail clients within your organization.

Manage Gmail IMAP settings in the Admin console

Earlier this year, we announced additional enhanced Gmail IMAP controls. With this launch, we’re further ensuring that your users’ communication is secure and reliable.
Gmail IMAP was previously only configurable at the domain or OU level.
Getting started

Admins: IMAP options are OFF by default and can be enabled at the domain, organizational unit (OU), or group level. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning IMAP options on or off for your organization.
End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. End users will only be able to use the allowlisted IMAP clients approved by admins.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 9, 2021

Availability

Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Nonprofits, Education, and Enterprise for Education customers
Not available to Google Workspace Essentials customers

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help: Turn POP and IMAP on and off for users

Set user language programmatically with the Directory API

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Quick launch summary With this launch, you can use Google Workspace Admin SDK Directory API to customize a per user language preference via the user create/update flow.
Previously, the AdminSDK only allowed one customer level language setting that applied to all users, which could then be changed individually via the Admin console, or by the user. We hope this will make it easier to set up and manage your users at scale.

Getting started

Admins and developers: No action required. This function is available by default. Use our API documentation to learn more about using the Directory API to update the ULS.
End users: No end user impact.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on December 9, 2021.

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources

Admin SDK Directory API Documentation: REST Resource: users

Admins can install Google Workspace Marketplace applications for specific groups

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Quick launch summaryAdmins can now install Google Workspace Marketplace applications for specific groups in their organization using the new “admin-install” functionality (formerly known as “domain-install”). Previously, admin-installing applications from the Google Workspace Marketplace was only possible for organizational units or an entire domain.

This is useful in situations where only a subset of your users need to have the app installed, for example CRM applications required for your sales and marketing groups or e-signature applications required for your legal teams.

Getting started

Rollout pace

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 9 , 2021

Availability

Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers
Not available to Google Workspace Essentials customers

Resources

Updated user interface for the App Access Control panel in the Admin console

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Quick launch summaryWe’ve updated the user interface for the App Access Control portion of the Admin console. This update makes it easier for admins to:

View which applications are configured as trusted or blocked,
View a list of all applications being accessed by users,
View a list of Google Services within their organization.

The updated App Access Control user interface in the Admin console

Additionally, you’ll notice faster loading times for the app access list. We hope these improvements make it easier to find information regarding access to applications across your organization.

Getting started

Admins: This feature will be available by default and can be accessed in the Admin console by navigating to Security > API Controls > App Access Controls. Visit the Help Center to learn more about controlling which third-party & internal apps access Google Workspace data.
End users: There is no end user impact.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 8, 2021

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help: Control which third-party & internal apps access Google Workspace data

More details on migration of existing multiple-location Drive files to shortcuts and other improvements for shortcuts

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

What’s changingLast year, we announced improvements for shortcuts in Google Drive. Shortcuts simplify file and folder structures in Drive by creating pointers to items, rather than having items which existed in multiple locations. At that time, we also mentioned that we would be migrating existing files in multiple locations to shortcuts in 2021. This migration will now happen in 2022—see below for more information on the updated timeline:

Beginning early 2022, admins will be notified via email several weeks prior to the migration beginning in their domain.

Important note: Before the migration begins, admins will be able to control when to create shortcuts in shared folders with a new admin setting. See below for more information.
Google Workspace end users will not receive this notification.

Google Drive end users will begin seeing a banner in Google Drive on web and mobile notifying them of the migration. No additional action is required, the migration will take place automatically.

This applies to all Google Workspace users and users with personal Google accounts.

See below for more information on the migration, as well as additional improvements we’ve implemented for shortcuts in Drive.

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why it’s important

New shortcut behavior for items stored in multiple locations

We’re replacing files and folders that are stored in multiple folders in Google Drive with shortcuts. This change simplifies your folder and file structures and helps reduce confusion around files with multiple parent folder locations.

When a file is replaced with a shortcut:

One location is preserved for files or folders currently contained in multiple locations. All other instances of the item will be replaced with a shortcut.
Ownership and sharing permissions for files and folders are preserved.
Admins can view a record of these events and changes in the Admin audit log.

Google Workspace admins will be notified via email several weeks before the process begins for their organization. Visit the Help Center to learn more about shortcuts replacing items stored in multiple locations.

Prior to this process beginning, admins will be able to control when shortcuts should be created in shared folders. This feature will be available in the upcoming weeks. In the Admin console, go to Apps > Google Workspace > Drive and Docs > Upcoming changes to My Drive and under “Manage shortcut creation”, you’ll be able to select:

Always create shortcuts: Everyone with access to a shared folder gets shortcuts in that folder
Create shortcuts only for content shared within your domain and trusted domains: Only users from your organization and trusted domains get shortcuts in a shared folder
Create shortcuts only for content shared within your domain: Only users in your organization get shortcuts in a shared folder.
Don’t create shortcuts: Shortcuts will not be created for items in shared folders where access permissions vary.

Please note, in all situations, users that did not previously have access to an item will not be able to access it despite being able to see the shortcut in Google Drive.

Several weeks before the migration in your organization, end users will see banners in Google Drive notifying them of the change. This process is automatic and requires no action from your end users. After the replacement, users can move their file or folder to another location or add a shortcut in another location.

Additional details

Shortcut creations using Drive for Desktop

Previously, when using Backup and Sync to connect with a computer, it was possible to add a folder to an additional location using the “Shift+Z” function. Going forward, once all users have fully migrated to Drive for Desktop, the Shift+Z behavior will create shortcuts instead of a folder living in multiple locations.

Recent improvements to shortcuts in Google Drive

As we continue to improve Google Drive, we’ve given our users more options to store and organize their files.

To provide our users with more information about the file a shortcut points to, we’ve added more information in the details window. Depending on sharing permissions, you’ll see information such as:

Who has access to the file and whether the file can be downloaded,
The size of the file and storage used,
The location of the original file,
Who created the file and the last modification, and more.

These updates are fully available on Google Drive for web — we will provide an update on the Workspace Updates Blog when they become available for Google Drive on mobile devices.

Additionally, because the original file’s permissions don’t automatically update when you create a shortcut, we will be adding prompts for users in the next few weeks to ensure your permissions are set how you want to. Previously, when you added a shortcut to a folder, users with access to the folder weren’t automatically granted access to the file at the other end of the shortcut. Now, when you create a shortcut, you’ll be prompted to give impacted users access.

Getting started

Admins: Admins will be notified via email several weeks before the migration beginning in their domain. Before the migration begins, Admins will be able to control shortcuts replacing items stored in multiple locations with a new admin setting.
End users:

Beginning early 2022, you’ll see a banner in Google Drive on web and mobile notifying you of the migration. No additional action is required, the migration will take place automatically.
Visit the Help Center to learn more about finding files and folders with Google Drive shortcuts, organizing your files in Google Drive, and upcoming changes to Google Drive sync clients.

Users with personal Google accounts: Visit the Help Center to learn more about shortcuts replacing files and folders stored in multiple locations.

Rollout pace

Access Checker Improvements

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on January 4, 2022

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers
Available to users with personal Google accounts

Resources

Google Drive Help: Upcoming changes to Google Drive sync clients
Google Workspace Admin Help: Shortcuts replacing items stored in multiple locations
Keyword: Sync content across all devices with Drive for desktop
Google Help: Find files & folders with Google Drive shortcuts
Google Help: Organize your files in Google Drive
Google Help: Share and collaborate in My Drive

Google Forms API now available in open beta

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

What’s changing At Google Cloud Next 2021, we announced the Google Forms API Beta, which provides programmatic access for managing Google Forms and acting on responses— empowering developers to build powerful integrations on top of Forms. The Google Forms API is now rolling out as an Open Beta which means developers who are part of our Early Adopter Program can make their integrations available to the public. We’ll no longer require individual end-user accounts to be allowlisted. Developers should keep in mind, however, that their integrations are in Beta. Developers can apply to join our Early Adopter Program and begin developing using the Google Forms API by filling out this form. See below for more information. Who’s impacted Admins and developers Why you’d use it The Google Forms API provides programmatic access to manage Forms and receive responses, supporting the development of a variety of powerful integrations. For example, the API could be utilized to develop real-time dashboards or data visualizations, trigger business workflows incorporating project management, CRM, or LMS tools, or auto-generate forms from question banks or other data sets. The API is useful for a variety of tasks such as:

Creating and modifying forms or quizzes

Retrieving form responses or quiz grades

Reading form content and metadata

Receiving push notifications for form or quiz responses and updates

Getting started

Admins: Admins can use the Admin console to manage which integrations are authorized to access Google Workspace data. Visit the Help Center to learn more about controlling which third-party & internal apps access Google Workspace data. Use this developer guide to learn more about the Forms API. NOTE: Restricting access to Google's Drive service will restrict access to the Google Forms API

Developers: Use this form to request access to the Forms API Early Adopter Program and this guide to learn more about the API.

End users: No action required.

Rollout pace Integration availability for end users

Rapid Release domains: Available now for all users.

Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for all feature availability) starting on December 7, 2021

Availability

Developers can apply for access to the Google Forms API through our Early Adopter Program.

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help: Control which third-party & internal apps access Google Workspace data

Google Forms for Developers: Form API

Google Forms API Early Adopter Program Form

Enhanced content classification, governance, and DLP with Google Drive labels

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

What’s changingEarlier this year we announced a beta for three features which can help categorize content and enhance content protection at scale. Drive labels are now generally available, and automated classification with Workspace data loss prevention and labels-driven sharing restrictions will become generally available in the coming weeks. Check back on the Workspace blog for updates.

Drive labels: This renaming and update to the previously-announced Drive metadata feature enables admins to configure custom labels (formerly “metadata”) for a domain. Users can then apply these labels to files in Drive, helping ensure files are handled correctly. This feature is now generally available.
Automated classification with Workspace data loss prevention (DLP): Automated classification can help organizations automatically add Drive labels to content based on administrator-defined rules and predefined content detectors.

Using automated classification makes it easier to scale your use of labels while reducing the risk of manual classification errors. It also provides an added safeguard against unlabeled content.
Admins have the control to allow end users to change labels applied by DLP, to provide flexibility for their organization. This allows admins to balance their use cases between user choice and admin policies on a per DLP rule basis.

Labels-driven sharing restrictions with Workspace data loss prevention (DLP) integration: Admins can configure sharing restrictions to be applied to all files with a given label. For instance, DLP administrators could configure a rule that shows users a warning any time they attempt to share a file labeled as “Internal,” and another rule that blocks external sharing or prevents downloads and printing for all “Top Secret” files.

Read our announcement from Google Cloud Next ‘21 to learn more about this and other features that are helping Google Workspace deliver new levels of trusted collaboration for a hybrid work world.
Who’s impactedAdmins and end users
Why you’d use itSpecial handling of sensitive data is an integral part of a strong information governance policy. That begins with labeling files which may contain sensitive intellectual property, personally identifiable information, data subject to special compliance regulations, and more. Additionally, labels can help admins prevent external sharing, downloading, and printing of classified files via an integration with data loss prevention (DLP). Moreover, admins can create labels to indicate department names, document types, document status, and anything else you can think of, to facilitate content discovery in advanced search.
When used in conjunction with automated classification, labels in Drive can be added automatically based on admin-defined DLP rules and predefined content detectors. This automated classification can help scale data classification and protection efforts by reducing the administrative burden and potential errors associated with manual labels.
Additional detailsOnce admins turn on the label feature and publish labels, users who are permitted to apply a given label can then apply it to files in Drive. They may do so via the Drive context menu, Drive detail pane, or the Labels option in the File menu of Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Users can search for all files that they have access to with a given label using Drive’s “advanced search” functionality.
Each company can have one “badged label,” which will be prominently visible as a colored rectangle in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, providing a visual reminder to users to handle these files with care. Admins can also configure standard labels, which may still represent important information and can be used to enforce policy but will not have the same visual prominence.

Admins can define custom labels for their organization

Users can add labels to Drive files (if permitted by admin), or take advantage of automatic classification

Admins can set data loss prevention (DLP) rules for files with a certain label

Getting started

Rollout paceDrive labels

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 7, 2021

Automated Classification and Labels based sharing restrictions with DLP integration

Launching in the next few weeks. Check back to the Workspace blog for updates

AvailabilityDrive labels

Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, and Nonprofits customers
Not available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Education Fundamentals, and Frontline, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers.

Automated classification & Labels based sharing restrictions with DLP integration

Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus and Education Plus customers.
Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources

Updates

Quick access to restore recently deleted users from Admin console homepage

Set custom rules for incoming Google Voice calls

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - December 17, 2021

Making dynamic groups more powerful with custom user attributes and OrgUnit queries

Configure member restrictions for groups, now generally available

Expanded occupancy detection capabilities for Google Meet hardware devices

Use your Google Meet hardware-connected displays as digital signage

Automatically move breakout room participants back to the original meeting

Easily see which account you’re currently using in Google Calendar on mobile

New notifications when Drive content violates abuse program policies

Prevent unwanted invitations from being added to your calendar

Quicker access to more Workspace integrations in Google Chat

Manage Gmail IMAP controls by group in the Admin console

Set user language programmatically with the Directory API

Admins can install Google Workspace Marketplace applications for specific groups

Updated user interface for the App Access Control panel in the Admin console

More details on migration of existing multiple-location Drive files to shortcuts and other improvements for shortcuts

Google Forms API now available in open beta

Enhanced content classification, governance, and DLP with Google Drive labels

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